Mementos and Memories
by EmeraldRhapsody
Summary: As 23 year-old Naruto packs to move to a new residence, he finds many mementos to remind him just how much things have changed in the past 11 years. One-shot. Many Spoilers. NaruSaku.


All characters are belong to Kishimoto, and many thanks to my beta ShreyaGirl07 for not only proof reading this but also giving me the original plot idea of Naruto cleaning out his closet. My muse just took it from there and ran with it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cardboard boxes littered the small apartment leaving only a narrow pathway through the living room that tripled as a dining room and kitchen. The bedroom was in a similar state of disarray with clothing, scrolls, and ninja gear strewn across the bed and floor. The blonde shinobi stared at the mess dismayed at the prospect of deciding where to start. Sighing heavily, the young man got to work, tossing clothing in one box and scrolls into another. He would sort it out later; at least that was what he kept telling himself.

A loud crash followed by a string of curses from the other room caused him to pause in his chore. "Naruto! Why the hell do you have so much stuff?" his female teammate demanded huffily. "You have eleven plates, seventeen cups, twenty-one bowls, and more mismatched chopsticks than I care to count! Not to mention none of your dishes even have similar patterns!"

"Sorry Sakura-chan!" he quickly apologized before she could continue her rant. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…but we lost five bowls, two plates, and a cup," she responded wryly.

"As long as my favorite orange ramen bowl survived?" the blonde questioned hopefully. He was met with silence. The pink-haired medic snickered softly, perfectly imagining Naruto's trademark pout. "Sakura-chan…" he whined, that really was his favorite bowl. She couldn't hold back the laughter any longer, as she silently questioned whether Naruto categorized the ramen bowl as one of his precious friends. Almost twenty-four years old and still a little kid at heart…

"Your beloved, obscenely, orange bowl is already safely packed away," she reassured through fits of laughter.

"Sakura-chan you're so mean!" the accusation lacked conviction.

Still sulking, Naruto turned back to packing, pulling miscellaneous items from under his bed. A worn head-protector, once bright blue but now a faded blue-gray, bought an unconscious smile to his lips. It seemed like eternity since Iruka had tied it onto his twelve-year old head. Things had changed so much since then, he could hardly believe it, but that moment had been the first of many important steps that had brought him where he was today. Slipping the item into a box, he moved on.

His exploration of the items under his bed uncovered nothing else significant other than a few garments in terrible need of washing. _They_ earned a box all to themselves. With that done, he moved on to the few items on his night stand. Picking up the book that had given him his namesake and a legacy he could finally live up to, he leafed through a few pages scanning sporadically as he went. "Well you old pervert, I made it just like I said I would. Amazing that a no talent kid like me is about to become Hokage, I guess that means anything is possible eh?" he whispered with a sad smile. "Too bad you can't be here to see it."

A flash of pink appeared suddenly at the door. "Hey Naruto, I'm going to run out and get us some lunch okay?" Immediately the future Hokage brightened. "Not ramen," she corrected. He sighed, unwilling to argue with the girl who could punch him through a wall without much guilt or effort.

Carefully placing the aged book into a small box containing his personal effects, he reached for the other item that held so many memories. Team seven in all their genin glory. So many things had changed since then. A little over eleven years ago the picture had been taken, and since then he watched his best friend leave him behind for power and revenge, he had lost his two teachers to the Akatsuki, and Konoha had finally finished rebuilding after almost complete destruction. The most significant achievement came only a year ago when the great shinobi nations signed a treaty of amity, making Jiraiya's dreams of peace a reality. Finally, Naruto wrapped the picture in a spare t-shirt for protection where it then joined the book.

As he bent to move the box onto the bed, he noticed something white out of the corner of his eye, lost behind the headboard of his bed. Quickly shoving the bed over slightly, he was able to retrieve the fallen scroll. Unfurling the scroll one of Sai's calligraphic paintings flowed across the page with artistic precision. The painting captured one of Naruto's most precious memories. The anbu artist had perfectly captured the beauty of Sakura's laugh as the grinning blonde lifted her bridal style to go celebrate one of the happiest moments of his life.

Naruto was so caught up in reminiscing that he didn't hear the front door open fifteen minutes later, signaling his teammate's return. She peered into the unusually quiet room, and smiled at the goofy grin adorning her boyfriend's face. "What are you doing?" she questioned. Her amusement increased when he jumped at the sound of her voice, and to think that he would be inaugurated as Hokage in two days. She weaved her way towards him to get a glimpse of what had captivated his attention. Her breath caught, the painting was gorgeous. "When did Sai give you that?"

"I think he gave it to me on the mission after you finally agreed to go out with me, but I had forgotten all about it because of the chaos with the negotiations and the treaty," he explained.

"Perhaps Sai will paint me a copy…" Naruto nodded absently in response, still enthralled by the nuances of the picture. "Alright, let's go eat! Plus we have a surprise guest that I managed to wrangle into helping us," she announced.

Turning to leave, she suddenly found herself swung back into the arms of the enamored young man. He planted a tender kiss on her nose. "You're beautiful Sakura-chan." The simplicity and sincerity of his statement spoke to her more than any flowery declaration could. How could she not love this man?

"Should I come back later?" The dry comment startled them both into looking towards the door where Sakura's recruit stood, a single dark eyebrow arched in question. Naruto growled at the interruption. He loved his teammate as a brother and best friend, but that wasn't going to stop him from beating the shit out of the interfering bastard.

Sakura rolled her eyes as the angered blonde charged at the smirking Uchiha. Some things would never change, but what did that matter when life was perfect?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Again many thanks to my ShreyaGirl07, I couldn't do it without her. Hope you enjoy! All reviews and critiques are welcome, As always I am always looking to improve my writing and any input is helpful!


End file.
